John Davis, a Giant in Bowling World, Dies at 64 From Heart Attack

A Winter Haven man who for years helped keep the Professional Bowlers Association afloat by providing free lane maintenance has died. John Davis, 64, died Jan. 25 after suffering a heart attack.

By RYAN E. LITTLELedger Media Group

WINTER HAVEN | A Winter Haven man who for years helped keep the Professional Bowlers Association afloat by providing free lane maintenance has died.

John Davis, 64, died Jan. 25 after suffering a heart attack.

Though not well known outside of the bowling community, Davis and the Lake Wales-based company he founded out of a station wagon, Kegel LLC, are world-famous.

His company was named for the German word Kegeln, which means bowling. It manufactures bowling lane cleaners and conditioners and runs a bowling training center.

"He was an industry giant," said his son, Jonathan Davis. "And he was told all along, throughout developing his products and developing his ideas, ‘don't do it,' but he believed so strongly that he did it and he was successful at it.

"Some people viewed him as crazy and some people viewed him as a genius."

Some even called him Bowling's Steve Jobs.

When the current president, Chris Chartrand, had just started working for the company, he proposed surveying customers to see what they want.

John Davis was born in St. Joseph, Mo., in 1948, but developed his first bowling lane cleaning machine while living in Phoenix. He sold his house there and moved to Sebring to start his business.

Today that business is one of only three in the United States that serves the bowling industry producing the machines and cleaning products needed to clean bowling lanes. The company moved to Lake Wales in 2003.

John Davis is likely most famous for his support of the Professional Bowlers Association. Davis and the company provided the machines, labor and travel expenses of the lane cleaning crew for tournaments for eight years.

"It was trying to support the league because it was struggling financially," Jonathan Davis said. "He took a big expense off of their operating budget."

Davis was accustomed to taking on big expenses for many in his life, and for it, his employees adored him, Chartrand said.

For instance, in 2011, an employee's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. Davis gave the man all the time off he needed to care for her, which turned into a year, with full pay.

"He was a very generous, generous man," Chartrand said.

But family was always first, Jonathan Davis said.

"He was a teaching father, not the kind of guy who would fly off the handle ... but use our mistakes as an opportunity to learn," Davis said.

In addition to Jonathan Davis, John Davis is survived by his mother, Loretta Davis of St. Joseph; wife, Linda Davis of Winter Haven; son, Christopher Davis of Winter Haven, daughter, Jennifer Gossard of Winter Haven, four brothers and six grandchildren.

A celebration of life is being held at the Kegel Training Center at 1951 Longleaf Blvd. in Lake Wales today at 3 p.m.